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Changing Whitehaven
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| Whitehaven castle under renovation as it is converted into a complex of flats. The Castle was purchased in 1675 by John Lowther who was mainly responsible for developing the town of Whitehaven. It had previously been owned by Sir George Fletcher of Hutton and was then called the Flatt (hence Flatt Walks). It was extended and redeveloped by John Lowther and then rebuilt in the form of The Castle by Sir James Lowther in 1769 with Robert Adam styling. In the 1920's it was donated to the town as a hospital and later became absorbed into the NHS. More recently it was sold to a private developer against the wishes of many Whitehaven people who believed it belonged to the town. It fell into a ruinous state but now thankfully the main shell of the building will be saved as it is converted to housing. Building work has found many small rooms in the base of the corner towers. It is conjectured that these have a link with the slave trade but this story resurfaces regularly about old Whitehaven basements. |
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| Development of the former Jefferson's Wine Merchants into the
new Rum Story attraction. Until its recent closure, Jefferson's was the oldest family wine
merchants in the country with links back to Robert and Henry Jefferson who imported rum
when Whitehaven was one of the leading ports in the trade with the West Indies. This new
visitor attraction will contain displays about the rum trade, sugar, slavery and a
fascinating kinetic clock. The new visitor attraction is due for opening on 29th May 2000. |
| For more about the rum festival see: http://www.lakestay.co.uk/rum1.html |
